


5 Times Peter Called Mr. Stark

by Itbelikethatsometimes



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:34:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itbelikethatsometimes/pseuds/Itbelikethatsometimes
Summary: And one time he didn't.~COMPLETE~
Comments: 9
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So you guys like my other fics so here's some more! I know two fics in one day it's huge but, it's the holidays so here you go! You can expect lots more from me during the winter break and all of next year. I have so man ideas so stay tuned!

Peter was perched on his favorite rooftop. He loved this rooftop. He could practically see the whole city. He was eating his sandwich as Ned talked excitedly through the coms. He was saying something about his new Lego Mandalorian set. Peter was only half listening. He was always taken aback by the city. It was so breathtaking. He would never get used to this. I mean, how could he? The sparkling lights, the silhouettes of the skyscrapers. It was just… Dazzling. The one thing in his life he knew would be constant. Life. The cities. Even when they get messed up by aliens or whatever, they always rebuild. Bigger, better, more beautiful. Peter took a deep breath. The chill of the cold December night stung his lungs. He didn’t care. He felt amazing. That is until his spider-sense went off. 

He placed his sandwich down and perked his head up. He looked around the streets around him. There were two guys in an alleyway. He told Ned to shoosh. He listened to the commotion from the ground. The two men were arguing about deliveries. Somehow Peter got the feeling they weren’t talking about pizza. He crawled down the side of the building to get a better vantage point. Ned was quietly raving about how cool Peter was to be able to do this kind of stuff. But, Peter wasn’t listening. He was too enthralled in the adrenaline. Ok, so there are two guys in the alley. They both have guns. They are arguing. Someone is going to get hurt.

“Dude you either get me the stuff or you don’t get the money,” One guy said.

“You don’t get it!” The other replied. “If I don’t get this money I could lose my family. I just need to give you a late delivery.”

“I don’t pay ahead,” the first guy said reaching for his gun. That’s when Peter intervened. He landed on the pavement between the two men.

“Hey guys,” Peter said casually. “I’m guessing you haven’t been talking about pizza huh?”

The delivery man yelled and tried to punch Peter in the face. Peter dodged it easily and webbed him in the face. The man fell backward. Peter shot a web at his hand sticking him to the ground.

“One down one to go!” Ned said over the com. Peter turned around in time to see the man pointing his gun at Peter. 

“Put your hands up!” The man yelled. Peter slowly raised his hands. 

“Peter oh my god! Does he have a gun?” Ned yelled over the com. “Do you want me to go get help? I’ll call Mr. Stark!”

“No Ned I got this,” Peter whispered. “Karen, end call.”

“Peter-” The call cut off.

Peter shot a web in the direction of the gun. They both fired at the same time. Peter’s web knocked the gun out of the man’s hand and hit him in the face. Knocking him the ground. Peter celebrated. But, too soon. He felt a white-hot pain in his arm. He fell onto his back. Karen immediately sprang into action.

“Contusion detected. Heart rate increasing. You’ve been hit in your brachial artery and are bleeding out. Calling Mr. Stark,” She said calmly.

“No wait don’t!” Peter yelled.

“You are unauthorized to cancel this command.”

“Shit,” Peter breathed. He could feel warm liquid on his hands as it spilled through his fingers. He could hardly move. He webbed the wound and put pressure on it. He didn’t dare stand up. He would probably throw up in his mask. Oh god, Mr. Stark is gonna be so mad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony had actually been asleep for once. He was sleeping soundly in his bed after four straight days of working. He had been so exhausted that he was just going to his bedroom to change but ended up drooling at the sight of his big cozy bed. He climbed in and immediately passed out. It was wonderful. For the hour he got.

“Boss urgent call from Peter Parker,” FRIDAY said suddenly. Tony sat up instantly. “Karen says it’s an emergency!”

“Patch him through,” Tony said trying to keep his heart rate down. Peter’s voice crackled through the speakers.

“Uhhh, Mr. Stark?” Peter said in a pained voice. “I’ve kinda got an issue.”

“What is it, kid? Are you ok?”

“Oh, yea I’m fine. I uh… Just need you to-”

“Kid you still there?” Tony said tapping on the housing unit on his chest.

“Yea yea I just need you to come get me.” 

“Where are you?” Tony asked his chest tightening as he flew out the open window.

“I’m at-” Peter disconnected.

“FRI?” Tony said as his heart pounded out of his chest. 

“I can’t seem to reach Karen. Peter’s mask has been removed,” She replied.

Shit. If this kid’s identity gets out he won’t be able to live. He won’t be able to go to school, or have friends, or go out in public without putting everyone around him in danger. “Show me his coordinates.” A small dot appeared on his map. It was in an alley in Queens. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yea I just need you to come get me,” Peter said trying not to sound like he was dying. Was he dying? He might have been dying.

“Where are you?” Tony asked. Peter could hear the panic in his voice. He was going to be in so much trouble. 

The man across the alley yelped. Peter watched him sit up. He looked over at Peter and ran beside him. He looked Peter up and down. He smirked. It made Peter sick. The man reached down to grab Peter’s mask. Peter used his good hand to fire a web grenade at the building behind the man. Just as he was grabbing a handful of Peter’s mask, the grenade went off and engulfed the man. But he had grabbed hold of the mask just enough for it to be pulled off. Peter hadn’t finished telling Mr. Stark his location. He was doomed. He was screwed. He was alone in an alley and bleeding to death. 

It felt like hours to Peter. He had gotten very sleepy over the course of the very long few minutes. He could see black spots appear in his vision. He heard shuffling behind him. He tilted his head up just enough to see the delivery man. He was holding his gun. It was pointing directly at Peter’s face. But the man hesitated. He looked shocked. 

“You’re just a kid,” the guy said. Peter had forgotten his mask was off. The man took a deep breath. “I’m sorry… But, you’ve heard too much.” The man closed his eyes. Peter shut his tight. Silently praying Mr. Stark would appear and save him right before certain disaster. Peter opened his eyes when he heard the gun fall on the concrete beside him. Iron Man was standing across the alley pointing his repulsor at the man. The man put his hands up and backed away. Peter celebrated in his head.

Iron Man shot a stun at the man and he collapsed. Peter relaxed. He couldn’t have been more relieved. Mr. Stark’s mask melted away. He ran to Peter’s side. He instantly noticed the hole in Peter’s arm.

“Oh my god,” he whispered. He was probably trying to not let Peter hear him. Peter heard him. In fact, Tony was the only thing Peter could hear. He could hear his heavy breathing, his pounding heart, his muttering. It was the only thing keeping him conscious. 

“Ok kid here’s the deal. I’m gonna fly you back to the compound and you’re gonna stay awake for me ok?” Tony said picking Peter into his metal arms. The sudden movement made Peter wince. His arm erupted into white-hot pain. He cradled it closer to his chest. Tony had taken off into to sky. The cool night breeze made Peter very sleepy. He could feel his hair blowing and it was almost like the way you fall asleep on a bus after a long night. Peter’s eyes slid closed. He tried to fight it, but he felt all the pain melt away as he did. He felt amazing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter had a horrible dream. Uncle Ben was in it. He was telling Peter off for being wreckless and jumping headfirst into a fight without planning things out. Peter knew how stupid what he had done was. But, it was strange to hear this lesson come from Uncle Ben. He felt there was someone else who would usually tell him all this. But, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony dropped Peter off at the med bay. Cho had already set everything up for Peter. Tony let him down gently onto the stretcher and followed close behind as they wheeled him away into the surgical room. One of the nurses stopped and put her hand on Tony’s shoulder as if to say this is as far as you can go Tony took the hint and backed off. He went back to the waiting room and stared at the patterned carpet. He was lost in thought. Mostly thoughts of hope for Peter to wake up. 

“Boss may I remind you, you’ve only gotten two hours of sleep in the past four days,” FRIDAY said breaking Tony’s train of thought.

“I’m not going to sleep until he’s out of surgery,” Tony replied.

“It may take hours boss,” FRIDAY plead. Tony didn’t respond he had made up his mind on this. 

The hours passed like days. Each minute Tony felt more and more exhausted. The four days no sleep was really getting to him. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open when a nurse entered the room. Tony instantly felt wide awake. She told him Peter was in stable condition. So, Tony could see him now. Tony slowly creaked the door open and looked at the bed. Peter slept. His arm was bandaged and he was hooked up to a bunch of machines. The heart monitor beeped rhythmically. Tony decided to stay until Peter woke up. What if he woke up and Tony wasn’t there? What if he was confused? What if he got out of bed? Tony didn’t want to risk it. So, he was prepared to stay up until the kid woke up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Peter Benjamin Parker!” Uncle Ben shouted. Peter had heard this tone. It’s one that he only heard once. He never wanted to hear it again. “You do NOT jump into a fight without plans. Just because you’re Spider-Man, doesn’t mean you can go picking fights with any criminal in an alleyway! You have to use these powers carefully. I can’t believe how reckless you’ve been.”

Peter suddenly found his shoes very interesting to look at. He had only heard this tone once. It was the day he had gotten into a fight with Uncle Ben. The day Uncle Ben died. He had gotten into a fight with Flash. Peter thought he could defend himself once he had his powers, but it turns out he shouldn’t have. Things got out of hand and Flash ended up with a black eye. Peter hadn’t meant for it to go that far. He just wanted Flash to get off his back. After a visit to the principles office, Uncle Ben picked Peter up from school. He gave him the whole with great power comes great responsibility speech. Peter never forgot those words. And the tone of the lecture. It was the I’m not mad I’m just disappointed tone that made him feel sick with himself. He didn’t feel his actions were wrong at the time. The number of black eyes Peter had received from Flash far outweighed the one he gave to Flash. Peter was also just a sophomore at the time. He wasn’t as smart as he is now. So the argument happened and then… All the other stuff happened. So yea, Peter really wasn’t enjoying this lecture.

He just felt so shitty. Maybe this was the push he needed though. The reprimand to encourage him to improve. To train. Uncle Ben stopped talking. Peter looked up. He was smiling. “I’m glad you know this will be a good learning experience,” He disappeared. Peter called his name. But, no answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was seconds away from sleep. He could feel the darkness calling. But, as usual, something happened that made him feel wide awake. Peter was stirring. Tony sat up and looked at the kid. He was opening his eyes. He was mumbling something. Tony leaned in close enough to hear him.

“Uncle Ben?” Peter asked.

“No, it’s me, kid. Tony,” Tony answered. God, the kid must be wigging out on those meds.

“Tony?” Peter said weakly. “Hi, Tony I’m Peter.”

“No, kid it’s me. Mr. Stark,” Tony said

“Oh… Hi,” Peter smiled a bit. “I’m gonna go back to sleep now. I love you.” Peter said closing his eyes and shifting onto his side. Tony couldn’t help but smile. He leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. He was out instantly. It helped him sleep knowing that Peter would be ok.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh! Another chapter? Man, I'm just killing it on updates this week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter there is more coming soon!

Peter had had the longest day of his life. He felt completely and utterly exhausted. The only thing that was making the day a bit more tolerable, was MJ. They were going to go on a date tonight. Their dates never really lasted long enough. They were always cut short by Peter’s busy schedule. It’s not that he didn’t want to be with MJ. It was just hard to balance his social life with his superhero life. But, today was going to be different. Peter and MJ were going on their first real date. They were going to go see a movie and then walk around the city. MJ always wanted to walk around New York at night. She never could because she didn’t have anyone to walk with. But, now she had Peter. So they were going to see a mystery movie. One of those true crime movies Peter had never heard of. And then, night walk. Peter was so sure he wouldn’t mess it up. He couldn’t. MJ meant too much to him. 

When Peter got home from school the first thing he did was sleep. He knew that if he woke up at 6:00 he could get ready and be at the theatre by 7:00. So, Peter slept. And slept. And slept. When he awoke, he checked the clock. It was 7:00. He jumped out of bed and rushed to get dressed. It was too late to take the bus (his original plan). So, he would have to swing. And that meant. He had to wear the suit. So he swung there as fast as he could. It was 7:30 by the time he got there. MJ was standing outside the theatre looking around for him. Peter swung into a nearby alley and put his normal clothes on top of his suit. He ran out of the alley. He met eyes with MJ and he ran up to her.

“Hey sorry I’m late I got held up by-”

“We missed the movie,” MJ interrupted. “It’s ok though… I just want to see you. And if that means not seeing a lame movie, then ok.”

Peter’s stomach dropped. If he hadn’t have stayed out on patrol the night before, he wouldn’t have needed the nap. Only 30 minutes in and he already screwed it up.

“We can just walk around,” MJ piped up. “I mean it’s kinda dark out.” So off they walked. It was really nice. Peter felt like he hadn’t truly talked to MJ alone in a long time. And especially about non-Spider-Man things. So it was really fun for them to have all this time to just talk. When their feet started hurting, Peter brought them up to his favorite rooftop. They looked out onto the night sky ad all the lights of New York. It was still as beautiful as the first time Peter saw it. They sat up there for a while until Peter’s spider-sense went off. 

No. Peter thought. Not tonight I’m off duty. Peter ignored it until it was so strong he had to cover his ears. They were ringing in a warning.

“Are you ok?” MJ asked.

“Uh… Yea yea. Just my ears are ringing,” Peter replied. He could ditch her on this date. At least, until he heard the scream. A woman. Peter looked at the city below. A woman was being mugged in an alley. Peter looked up at MJ. She was looking at the ground.

“Go,” she said quietly.   
“I’m sorry… You don’t deserve this,” Peter said dropping onto the fire escape. He easily took down the mugger and returned the woman’s purse. He rushed back onto the roof and rejoined MJ. He could tell she was hurting. “I’m so sorry, I just… I have these powers and… With great power comes great responsibility.” The last part was hardly a whisper. But MJ heard it. 

“I get it. You’re a superhero. You need to do your job… But, you can’t take one day off?” She asked not making eye contact. 

“I mean I would love to, but if you can do the stuff I can, and you don’t do it, and then the bad stuff happens, it’s your fault.” Peter was reminded of his first-ever chat with Mr. Stark. 

“I just… I just thought maybe… you would spend some time with me… And I know it’s selfish because you literally save people's lives every day, but I really care about you and I just want to see you as Peter Parker. The guy I like. Not Spider-Man the superhero,” She motioned to his suit. 

Peter felt like shit. He couldn’t give up people’s safety just to be with MJ. But, he also couldn’t constantly be Spider-Man. Peter Parker had to have a life too. MJ just seemed so disappointed in him.

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispered. There was a pause. They were both looking at the ground. MJ stood up. Peter looked up at her. 

“It’s getting late I should uhh-” 

“You want me to walk you home?” Peter asked standing.

“Uhhh no it’s ok I can just call an Uber,” MJ said opening the door to the stairwell. “I hope Spider-Man enjoys the rest of his night.” 

“MJ,” Peter said. He wasn’t 100% sure what he wanted to say. “I’m sorry, but… I can’t just ignore people in danger… I can’t give up spider-man for a night. Not even for you… so if that makes me a bad boyfriend then, so be it. But, I really do care about you. But I also care about the city. When I hear someone in danger I have to help.” Peter sounded more angry than he wanted to. 

MJ sniffled. Peter’s stomach dropped. He didn’t mean to sound so stern. “Ok well, maybe we should just take a break then,” MJ said trying to sound confident. Her hair was covering her face. Peter guessed it was on purpose. “You know, get our heads on straight before anything happens.”

“MJ wait-” She closed the stairwell door behind her. Peter knew he could jump down and meet her at the door. But, he didn’t really want to. He looked down at his backpack. His normal clothes were spilling out. He sat on the edge of the building and looked down at the city. The building didn’t seem as dazzling as usual. Tears welled up in his eyes as he saw MJ exit the building. She was talking on her phone. Peter couldn’t hear her over the sounds of the city. He thought it best that he couldn’t. SO, he just sat there. Staring at the lights he once thought were beautiful. Peter took off his mask. He didn’t feel like Spider-Man. Spider-Man was strong and would never mess up that bad. But he did. Spider-Man caused this. Spider-Man was messing up Peter’s life. At that moment, Peter wanted nothing more than to be a normal person. To go to school and academic decathlon as Peter without being scared of a villain tearing down buildings. He should be normal. He wanted to be normal. 

He took a deep breath and put his mask back on. “Karen,” Peter said trying to sound ok. “Call Mr. Stark.”

“Of course Peter,” She replied. The dial tone rang a few times before Tony’s voice appeared through the line. 

“Hey kid you ok?” Tony always thought it was an emergency whenever Peter called. Most of the time it was. 

“Mr. Stark? Uhh, can I ask you something?” Peter said trying to hold back his tears.

“Yea kid of course,” Tony replied. Peter could hear the tension in his voice. He knew something was wrong.

“I uh… I just wanted to know if…”

“Spit it out, kid,”

“I think MJ and I...” Peter couldn’t hold it in anymore. He let out a strangled sob. If he told Mr. Stark, that would make it real. 

“Kid I’m sorry,” Tony said. Peter rejoiced. He didn’t have to say it out loud. “I’ll fly over there ok?”

“Ok,” Peter said weakly. After only a few minutes, Peter could hear the repulsors. Tony landed behind him. Peter heard the suit melt away and felt Mr. Stark sit beside him. Peter looked up at him. 

“Are you gonna wear that thing all night?” Tony asked trying to lighten the mood. Peter was slightly embarrassed. The mask was the only thing keeping Mr. Stark from seeing how weak he was. But, Peter obliged. He reached up with his shaky hands and slowly slid his mask off. He suddenly found it very hard to look at Mr. Stark. But he didn’t look disappointed to see Peter’s emotions. He looked sympathetic. “Kid… breakups can be tough. I remember when Pepper broke up with me for a while. It tore me up. I was a piping hot mess for weeks. That was around the time we met.” He said nudging him slightly.

“You didn’t seem hurt. You were so… casual,” Peter replied finally looking up at Tony. 

“Kid, coming from the king of masking emotions, don’t,” Tony replied. It was kinda an answer but kinda not. Peter didn’t want to press the matter too much. It seemed to loom over Tony. He didn’t want to bring up bad memories. “So, what I’m saying is everything will be ok.”

“But you and Ms. Potts got back together,” Peter said.

“It’s not like I haven’t had any other relationships before her or anything,” Tony said sarcastically.

“When?” Peter asked. He sounded so stupid. Obviously, he had previous relationships.

“Well, I had a few in college. They were only with me because of the money you know?” Tony said completely neutral. Peter was shocked. How could someone use Tony like that? “So that’s when I stopped dating and just fooled around. And then things with Pepper just kinda… Happened. And no I am not letting you fool around with random girls.”

Peter cracked a smile. He wasn’t even thinking about it. As if any girl would with him. He’s not exactly a billionaire, or popular, or even liked by anyone for that matter.

“I just feel stupid. She… Because of spider-man. I always mess up our dates because of spider-man. Sometimes I wish I could be just Peter Parker. But, I know that I can’t because I help people every day. I mean people feel safe because of me you know? I can’t just stop being spider-man. It’s my responsibility. Cuz with great power comes with great responsibility. And I love being spider-man. But, I just wish I could be normal and have normal friends and go to a normal school and be just regular.” Peter knew he had had these feelings for a while. He just didn’t know how strong they were until now. Tony looked at Peter. 

“I’m sorry, kid. But, there are sacrifices you have to make when you’re a hero. Trust me when I say, your decision will never be permanent. I gave up Iron Man twice and I always came back. And if MJ doesn’t respect the fact that spider-man is a part of your life, she shouldn’t be a part of your life.” Tony was right. He was always right. Peter felt a bit better. He gave a small smile to Mr. Stark. 

“Thanks, Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “For coming all the way over here.” Peter’s phone buzzed. Peter pulled it from his backpack. He had three missed calls from Aunt May.

“Shit!” Peter exclaimed. Tony gave him a look.

“You can’t say shit. Only Pepper can say shit,” He said teasing.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark. But, May is gonna kill me I’m way passed curfew,” Peter said standing and packing his stuff back into his bag. “I’ll see you later!”

Tony couldn’t help but smirk. Peter really just dropped everything that just happened because of curfew. Tony never really had a curfew. Peter put on his mask and was about to jump off the ledge. He stopped himself just before. 

“It means a lot that you came all the way over here to see me when I wasn’t dying,” Peter said awkwardly. Peter looked at Tony for a few more beats and then jumped headfirst off the building. Tony smiled and tapped the housing unit. That kid will be the death of me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! there is so much more coming soon! I have more chapters for this and new stories for the lockdown series coming in the new year!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, hell yea! I'm on a roll writing this. It's really fun to come up with these scenarios. I'm having a lot of fun with this story. 
> 
> WARNING: Peter's drink is laced with something BUT there are no rape/noncon themes I don't enjoy to writing those.

Peter was too tired to function. He hadn’t slept for longer than three hours a night for four days straight. So, when Ned was telling him about the birthday party Betty had invited them to, Peter practically groaned at the thought of staying up late not studying for his midterm. Sure, it would be the first party Peter Parker was invited to (Liz’s party didn’t really count because she wanted spider-man. Not Peter). But, Peter really didn’t feel like staying up late just to hang out with people he didn’t know very well and pretend to have fun. 

“It’s gonna be so awesome!” Ned exclaimed. Peter knew Ned wouldn’t go if Peter didn’t. Ned was really excited about this party. And it was Betty. She was popular sure, but how crazy of a party could soon-to-be-valedictorian-Betty throw?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently huge. The moment Peter stepped out of Ned’s mom’s car, he could hear the roar of music and drunk teenagers coming from the house. Peter thought it was just his advanced hearing, but apparently, Ned could hear it too.

“This is awesome!” Ned cried over the noise of the party as they walked into the already open door. Peter cringed at the sight of drunk teenagers running and yelling. This was never Peter’s scene. He really didn’t like the taste of alcohol. He also didn’t know anyone other than Ned. Speaking of Ned, he had disappeared. Peter looked around. He was talking to Betty in the kitchen. Peter decided to leave them and stand awkwardly beside the couch. After a few minutes of Peter pretending to look at his phone, Ned pushed through the crowd with two red cups. He handed one to Peter. He took the cup hesitantly. Ned could see his doubt.

“Don’t worry man,” He said. “It’s just orange juice.”

Peter exhaled and thanked his friend. God, why was he so jumpy. His spider-sense hadn’t gone off once. Why was he so hesitant to be here? He shook away his regret of being here and drank his orange juice. He decided to walk around a bit when Ned disappeared again. As Peter walked around, he felt his spider-sense tingle for just a second. He whipped his head around a few times, but there was no apparent danger.

Peter wandered around for a few more minutes before he spotted someone familiar. Liz? Peter was shocked. She moved to Oregon. But, she must be here for Betty’s birthday. He thought. He contemplated going up and talking to her. But, he decided against it. She definitely didn’t want to see him. He pushed through the crowd and somehow ended up in the backyard. There were just as many people out there. All of them were vaping. Peter cringed at the smell. He hated it. It only smelled worse to him since the spider bite. He walked back inside and pushed through the crowd to the front hall. He took out his phone and texted Ned.

"Hey man, I’m heading home I have a chemistry midterm tomorrow. Have fun though!"

Ned would respond later. Peter thought it best he left before Ned tried to convince him to stay. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door didn’t open. Peter looked up and saw a hand pressed against the center of the door. Blocking it from opening. Peter followed the arm the person it was attached to. Flash.

“Where you going, Penis Parker? You just got here,” He said.

“I have a chemistry midterm tomorrow so,” Peter tried once again to open the door. It didn’t work.  
“Why don’t you have another drink?” Flash asked.

“I have a midterm,” Peter said more confidently. Flash snickered.

“It’s only 9:30 dude. You can stay a bit longer. You can’t miss Betty blowing out the candles,” Flash said. Peter wasn’t sure what Flash was up to. He would never want Peter to stay at a party unless he was planning something. Peter could feel everyone looking at him. If he left now, he would look like he didn’t care about Betty. If Flash hadn't brought Betty into it, Peter could’ve got off scot-free. But now, he had to stay. Peter released the doorknob and turned around. The crowd of people all shouted happily at their success. Flash clapped Peter on the back a little too hard. Peter’s spider-sense was dormant, however. So he didn’t think much of it.

Flash put his arm on Peter’s shoulder and lead him to the dining room. The table was covered in red cups and drinks. Some alcoholic and some not. Flash began pouring some orange juice into a cup. Peter was intent on watching what he put into the cup. But, It was just orange juice. Peter took the cup and sipped it. It didn’t seem to have any alcohol. 

Peter gave Flash a fake smile and walked into the living room. He placed his drink on the coffee table in front of him and sat on an empty chair. He scrolled on a few social media apps before getting bored and returning to his drink. His spider-sense flared up for a second. He heard a crash in the kitchen. It must’ve been for whatever happened over there. He downed the rest of his drink and stood. He wanted to find Betty and tell her he was leaving. He wandered around for a while before running into Flash again. 

“How ya feeling man?” Flash asked. He had an I’m-up-to-no-good grin on his face. Peter instantly knew something was wrong. 

“I’m fine,” Peter said. He started to feel weird after he said that. His vision went a bit foggy and his brain was swimming a bit. The room was spinning. He tried to reply to Flash, but his mouth wasn’t really working. It just came out as a mumble. He could hear Flash laughing. 

Next thing Peter knew he was in the bathroom. He was sitting in the empty bathtub with someone he’d never met before. His vision was still blurry so he closed his eyes to try to clear them. When he opened his eyes, he was in the backyard. He was holding a vape pen. Peter dropped it and shook his head. This was wrong. This was all wrong. He stood and went for the sliding glass door. His movements were slow. Everything was slow. He felt wrong. He had to call someone. He couldn’t remember who. He was so confused. His brain was full and empty at the same time. His vision was full of black spots. He must’ve passed out because the next thing he knew he was lying face up on the ground. There were a few people kneeling beside him. He had no idea who they were. He didn’t really care to be honest. He just wanted to call someone. He didn’t know who, but he needed to call them. Peter closed his eyes. When he opened them he was in the bathroom again. This time, he was alone. He was sitting on the floor leaning against the bathtub. He took out his phone. He scrolled through the list of contacts. Aunt May? No, she would be pissed if she saw him like this. Ned? No, he’s here. MJ? No. Just no. Mr. Stark? Yes! That’s who he was supposed to call every time he got injured. Damn. Mr. Stark was gonna be so mad that Peter is drunk. 

He hesitantly pressed the call button for his contact. It rang a few times before he answered. “Mr. Parker,” Tony said in his usual nonchalant way. “Last I heard, you had a chemistry midterm tomorrow. You should be asleep it’s like 2:00 AM.”

“Uhhhhh,” Peter said. His brain was still foggy. He had no idea what to say. He should’ve planned this out. “I uh…”

“Don’t tell me you went on patrol,” Tony said. Peter could hear him facepalming.

“No, I uhhh… I’m at a party,” Peter slurred.

“What? Kid, you have a midterm tomorrow! Who goes to a party on a Thursday night? Wait, Are you drunk?” He asked. He didn’t sound nonchalant anymore. His voice went straight to angry dad. Peter panicked a bit. He didn’t want Tony to be mad at him.

“Uhhh, no. I had orange juice,” Peter slurred.

“Yeah sure,” Tony said. Tony had faked sobriety to his parents hundreds of times. There was no way Peter could pull it off. “I’m calling Aunt May to pick you up right now.”

“Wait-” Peter shouted. “Not drunk.”

Tony scoffed.

“Something in my drink. It tasted fine. Made me feel weird. I need you to come get me.”

Tony was silent. Peter knew he wasn’t buying it. There was a loud bang on the door. Peter dropped his phone. He didn’t say anything. The banging continued. “I’m gonna kill you, Parker!” Someone yelled from behind the door. This made Peter even more confused. Was he hiding from someone in the bathroom? What did he do to piss this guy off so much? Peter brought the phone back to his ear.

“You still there?” Tony asked. Peter groaned in response. “Ok, I’m coming to get you now.” Peter put the phone on his lap and listened to the voice shouting from behind the door. He had no idea who it could be. He could either leave the bathroom and face whatever consequences he earned, or stay and wait for Mr. Stark to bust in iron-maned out. Peter would rather not explain the entire student body of midtown tech why Iron Man would pick a drunk intern up from a high school party. So, Peter stood and opened the door. A very angry Flash. Peter tried to push past him, but he grabbed the collar of Peter’s shirt and yanked him back. Peter fell backward into the wall with a thud. Flash was furious. Peter had no idea what he did to deserve this. 

Flash raised his fist to throw a punch. Peter instinctively dodged. Flash’s fist went right into the wall. He let out a small squeak before pulling it out and diving for Peter. Peter didn’t dodge that. They both fell onto the floor. Peter’s head hit the hardwood with a thud. Flash began throwing punches over and over. Peter’s head swung back and forth. With each hit, the noise of the loud music and the people screaming at Flash was more and more drowned out. He could only hear muffled sounds. Peter couldn’t move. Usually, he would be able to just shove Flash off, but he physically couldn’t move. He felt Flash get lifted off him and pulled away. Peter rolled onto his stomach and onto his knees. Someone grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. Peter was led out of the house and into the crisp winter air. He took a deep breath. He was lead to the street and toward a car. Peter realized what was happening. He had no idea whose car this was. He turned and saw a blurry outline of someone familiar. He couldn’t quite place who it was. He was talking to Peter, but Peter couldn’t hear anything. 

The next thing Peter knew, he was in the back of a limo. He was lying on his back on the floor of the limo and someone was kneeling beside him. Peter didn’t want to know what was happening. He just wanted to sleep. Sleep was so close, but every time he thought he reached it, he would open his eyes. It kinda felt like time traveling. Peter would close his eyes and open them a few hours later. It was weird. He didn’t like it very much. Peter closed his eyes. He wanted to time travel again. When he opened his eyes he was in the med bay. He felt groggy. But, better. He looked around. Mr. Stark was sitting in a chair beside him with a stark pad. Peter shuffled around to get more comfortable. 

“Peter Parker,” Tony said before Peter could return to his sleep. “I can’t believe you got drunk and called me and then lied about being drunk to me. To me. You know you can tell me anything. You could’ve told me you were going to a party so in case you needed help, I would’ve been in the area. I sent Happy in and he walked out with you. You could hardly stand let alone walk. You were bleeding from your nose and your head and were covered in bruises. What the hell were you thinking?”

“It’s not my fault,” Peter said quietly.

“Yeah sure let me hear it,” Tony said crossing his arms.

“I was gonna go home. But, this kid… He convinced me to stay. He gave me a drink and it made me feel weird. It didn’t taste weird. It was just orange juice. I watched him pour it. But, apparently, it wasn’t just orange juice.” Peter replied. His voice was low. He didn’t want to seem like he was lying. Because this was the truth. Mr. Stark had to believe him.  
Mr. Stark sighed. “We got a blood sample. Cho is checking it right now. I don’t want to think you’re lying, but I have to see the blood test results.”

Peter couldn’t understand. Why couldn’t he trust Peter? 

“Why can’t you take my word for it?” Peter asked more anger showing than intended.

“Because I would lie about it. I want you to be better!” Tony replied. Peter didn’t reply. He didn’t know how. He kept bringing up the ‘being better’ thing. What did it mean? How could Peter be better than Iron Man? Peter’s thoughts were interrupted when Doctor Cho walked in.

“No alcohol in your blood Peter,” Cho said giving Tony an I-told-you-so look. “We did, however, find copious amounts of Gamma-hydroxybutyrate.”

“What’s that?” Peter asked.

“It’s an extremely strong neurotransmitter. Used for depression and sleep deprivation. You got an extremely large dose. With the amount you were given, I’m surprised you didn’t have a seizure let alone you surviving. Even with your spider powers, a dose that strong could have killed you.” There was a solemnness in her voice that Peter had never heard. “The real question is, where did you find it? And why did you take it?”

“He didn’t,” Tony said. “Someone put it in his drink.”

Peter felt a wave of relief wash over him. Mr. Stark believed him. That was all he cared about.

“Well you’ll feel very sick for the next few days, so try to stay off your feet and keep a bucket near you at all times.” She patted Peter on the shoulder and left the room.

“Thank you,” Peter said. “For believing me.”

“I’m gonna need a list of everyone at that party. Who could’ve done it, and who saw you there,” Tony began typing on his stark pad. “You get some rest. I’ll be here for a while.” 

Peter smiled. He knew everything would turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! New chapters coming soon! I might wait for the new year to upload again, but maybe I won't be able to wait ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for 3000 reads on The Source. It was my first ever story on here and it's amazing to know that you guys really enjoyed it! I'm really excited about this year. It's going to bring all-new stories and chapters that I'm working on right now! Also sorry for posting the same chapter twice, I had a dumbass moment. Here's the new chapter. Sorry!

The air around him was thick. His breathing was ragged and heavy. He had no idea what to do. The white headlights grew larger as time ran out. He bent down and lifted as hard as he could. The metal squeaked and groaned, but it didn’t budge. He tried again. He lifted with all his strength. He could feel the steel cutting into his palms. He kept going. He didn’t even put a dent in it. For some reason, his spider-sense wasn’t working. Tears filled his eyes as he realized he was out of time. The headlights were feet away. The train was going to win. Peter jumped off the track and onto the roof of the underground tube. He didn’t for a second take his eyes off Mr. Stark, stuck underneath the rail tracks. The train went over him. It was derailed. Large clouds of fire exploded from inside the train. They licked Peter’s face and chest. His suit melted slightly from the close proximity to the flames. 

As the smoke cleared, Peter fell from the roof. He looked around. “Mr. Stark?” He called. Maybe his suit was stronger than the train. Peter knew that he was gone, but he kept trying to convince himself differently. He had to be alive. He just had to be. Peter coughed for a moment before continuing his search. He moved large chunks of concrete and metal out of the way. But it was useless.

Another set of explosions shook the station. Peter was thrown into the wall. He felt his back crack unnaturally. He fell to the ground and onto his face. More burns had appeared all over his body. He took off his mask. He felt like it was choking him. He didn’t get back up. He just rolled onto his back. Tears flowed from his eyes. He couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t save Mr. Stark. He couldn’t save anyone. He could only save himself. And what good was that? If he couldn’t help anyone what was the point? There was no point. 

A final blast was sent through the station. Peter sat up and covered his face. He was shot into the wall behind him once again. But, this time, he was in the strongest part of the flames. He could feel burns appearing all over. It was excruciating. He knew he was screaming, but all he could hear was the roar of the flames.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter screamed. But, he couldn’t feel the pain anymore. He opened his eyes and sat up. He was in bed. He looked around his room. It was completely normal. He felt like he was going crazy. He never had these dreams before the bite. But now, he would have dreams like this every night. He attempted to untangle himself from the blankets. His palms stung at the sudden contact with the sheets. He looked at them. Four fingernail marks were cut deep into his palm. He didn’t know he could do that in his sleep. It scared him. What else could he do involuntarily? He shook his hands and carefully untangled his legs from the blankets. He carefully slid off his bed and onto the floor. He immediately got dizzy and fell backwards. He slowly dropped to the floor. He was half lucky that May was taking a double shift and couldn’t hear him, But, was half unlucky he was alone in the apartment. He checked the clock. It was only 4 AM. He shut his eyes tight. He could practically see the flames. The headlights. The glass shattering. He shook it off. 

Is Mr. Stark Ok? Peter thought. It was so real something had to have happened to him. He grabbed his phone and dialled Mr. Stark’s number. He hesitantly pressed call. It rang a few times before he answered.

“Kid, shouldn’t you be asleep? It’s way past curfew.” He asked worry was riddling his voice.

“Are you… You’re ok?” Peter asked. His voice was shaking more than he wanted.

“Uhh, yea are you?” He replied. 

“I just,” Peter took a deep breath. “I thought… You know what, don’t worry about it… Sorry for bothering you.”

“Hey-” Mr. Stark was cut off. Peter hung up and dropped his phone beside him. He put his face in his hands. He really was going crazy. There was no way having dreams like that could be normal. It was so real. Too real. He found it a bit hard to breathe. He could feel the flames. He could hear the train. He put his hands over his ears. It was deafening. The explosions, the derailed train. It was all so loud. He could hear the ringing in his ears from the boom of the explosion. He could feel the wall colliding painfully with his back and his head. He could feel his body being burned over and over. He couldn’t take it anymore.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He snapped his head to the side. Mr. Stark was crouched beside him. 

“What… How-” Peter asked.

“It’s ok kid just calm down,” Tony said. “I need you to breathe ok?”

“No, but you’re… You can’t” Peter replied through shallow breaths. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. Black spots appeared in his vision. He could feel his head getting lighter and lighter. 

“Peter! Breathe!” Mr. Stark shouted. He began exaggerating his breaths to catch the teen’s attention. Peter soon caught on and copied the pattern. His vision soon returned to normal. His mind cleared a bit.

“Why are you here?” Peter asked.

“I could tell something was wrong when you called. One, because you only call me when there’s a problem. And two, I could hear it in your voice.” Tony said trying to lighten the mood. “I flew over and knocked on the door. I expected you to come to the door but then I heard… Let’s just say I let myself in.”

“You didn’t have to come all the way down here I’m fine,” Peter said slightly embarrassed.

“Kid, just don’t,” Tony replied. 

They sat in kind of awkward silence for a moment.  
“I have these dreams,” Peter spoke suddenly. “Well, more like nightmares. And sometimes you’re in them. Sometimes May or Ned. And I can’t save them. I can’t save you. I just watch…”

Tony’s heart sank. Peter was too young for this. Tony had hoped he wouldn’t get the nightmares. He thought since he was so young, he could escape them. He pulled Peter into a hug. They had never done that before, but, it just felt like the right thing to Tony. Peter didn’t complain. They sat like that for a while until Peter broke the silence once again.

“Thanks for being here,” He said into Tony’s shirt. Tony couldn’t help but smile. It had been a while since anyone had said that to him. Since someone thanked him for just his presence. It was nice to know Peter enjoyed his company. 

Peter released from the embrace. He tried to wipe his eyes secretly. He wasn’t sure if Mr. Strak noticed. 

“May should be home soon,” He said quietly. 

Tony stood. “Are you gonna be ok?” He asked.

Peter nodded in response. Tony nodded back and left the room. Peter sighed. He felt better. Even though there were no words exchanged, he knew he could just call Mr. Stark when he had another nightmare. Peter got back in bed and waited for May to get home. He heard her softly open the door and her quiet steps to her bedroom. She always tried to be quiet when she returned from double shifts. But, Peter always heard her. It was good to know she returned home safely. 

Peter didn’t bother going back to sleep that night. He just silently waited for morning. It was just fine with him. He didn’t want to have that dream again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I just want to say again how grateful I am for all of my amazing readers. You inspire me to keep writing and improving something I love, but, never thought I was very good at.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Its been a while. I know I said I have a lot of things brewing for this year, and I do. but, it's taking a bit longer than I expected. I had four final projects due a few days ago and I only handed them in yesterday so you can tell my situation was less than ideal. But, now that my second semester has begun, I can get back to writing. Anyway, I just want to thank you guys again for your endless support and love. As long as yall like what I'm writing, I'll keep writing it!

Peter woke on the rough concrete. His head was pounding so hard he could hear his blood pulsing. He was laying on his stomach. He tried to lift himself off the ground, but, he immediately regretted it. His head fell back onto the jagged pavement. He pried his eyes open. He was met with a blinding light. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw he was alone in an alley. He had no recollection of how he got there. He slowly rolled onto his back in order to get a better view of his surroundings. He wasn’t in his Spider-Man suit. He was just Peter Parker passed out in an alley. He sat up and squeezed his eyes shut. Trying to calm the stars moving wildly across his vision. He pressed his hand against a sore spot on his head. It was wet. When he returned his hand, it was soaked in blood. This was when he began to panic. Peter Parker (not Spider-Man) had somehow ended up unconscious in an alley with no idea how he got there.

He sat in confusion for a moment until he remembered he should probably call someone. He grabbed his phone. He had 18 missed calls from Mr. Stark. Peter thought that was odd. He wasn’t patrolling so why would Mr. Stark be calling him? Peter dialled Mr. Stark’s number and listened to it ring a few times before Mr. Stark’s worried voice came on the line.

“Kid, what’s going on? You were supposed to be here two hours ago!”

“Uhhh…” Peter wasn’t sure how to respond. “For what?”

“Hmmm, let me think… Oh, yea that’s right, I’m on babysitting duty while May’s out of town. Does that ring any bells?” He said in his usual sarcastic voice.

“What?” Peter replied. This was a lot of information at once. 

Tony groaned. “I thought I told you no patrolling after school today.”

“I wasn’t… I don’t think I was…” It was hard for Peter to think with the constant throbbing in his head.

“Are you ok? Where are you?” Tony asked. His voice was somehow more worried than ever.

“I uhh… I woke up in an alley. I… I don’t remember anything.” Peter’s vision started to get spotty. Big dark shapes impeded his vision. He could hear Tony talking distantly over the phone, but he wasn’t comprehending any of it. It was suddenly very hard for Peter to keep his eyes open. The pain was finally subsiding as he fell back onto the pavement below. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter couldn’t feel the pounding in his head as much. It was still there, but, just not as loud and annoying. He was laying on his back. Kinda like the way he was in the alley, but on a softer surface. He slowly pried his eyes open. He was in a dark room. He was laying on a bed in a bedroom he didn’t recognize. He sat up despite the way his head screamed at him as he did. He clutched the sides of his head to try to stop the pain. He was in blinding pain. 

A hand on his back completely took him off guard. He completely forgot his pain and sprung as far away from the hands as he could. He hadn’t realized that he had no idea where he was. He fell off the bed and onto the carpet. He crawled across the floor and up against the wall. He stood to seem more intimidating. 

“Who are you? Where am I?” Peter asked. His voice was trembling more than he wanted.

“Jesus christ kid,” Said a voice in the room. Suddenly the lights turned on and a very shocked looking Tony was watching him. Peter was extremely confused now. He could tell he was missing time. Like he had been drunk again. 

“You have a concussion ok?” Tony said. He seemed a bit tired of explaining. “You hit your head somehow and I found you in an alley in Queens. You’re fine, but you’re having some memory problems according to Cho.”

“Why aren’t I in the med bay?” Peter asked.

“You were last night. But, you’re fine now,” Tony sighed.

“Then why am I here? Shouldn’t I be home?” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Your Aunt is out of town. I’m babysitting,” He seemed tired. Peter felt bad for whatever was happening. “All caught up?”

“Yea I guess,” Peter lied. He had so many questions. He just didn’t want Mr. Stark to have to explain things over and over. 

“Do you remember anything about that day? Like… How you hit your head?” Tony asked. He had probably asked Peter this before.

“No, I don’t remember anything until now…” Peter explained.

“Well, what was the last thing you remember?”

“I think, I was at school?”

“Ok yeah, you called me at around 5 so that could work. What happened on your way from school?” 

Peter wracked his brain for any information about that day. 

“I was walking, and…” Pain erupted in his head again. He fell back into the wall. Tony grabbed onto his arms before Peter could fall again.

“Woah Woah Woah,” Tony said lifting Peter and half dragging half carrying him to his bed. He gently dropped him onto the mattress. “You have a concussion. Don’t work your brain too much. We’ll figure this out when you’re better okay?”

“Yeah sounds good,” Peter replied laying back in bed. 

Tony turned the lights off and returned to his lab. He had been waiting not so patiently for FRIDAY to pull up the surveillance footage of the alleys. But, it was taking a while. Tony was getting a bit restless from waiting. When he finally returned to the lab, FRIDAY had finished pulling the footage. 

Tony sat in front of the hologram and told FRIDAY to play it. Tony was shocked by what he found. Peter was dragged into the alley by a person in a hoodie. Peter somehow seemed to know who it was. They argued for a few moments before the kid in the hoodie threw a punch. Peter let it hit him. So this person didn’t know about Spider-Man.

Peter was about to fight back, but, another kid, this one not wearing a hoodie, ran towards them. Tony could tell the age of the kid. He was maybe 15. Maybe he knew Peter? Tony thought he was there to help, but the kid grabbed Peter from behind and let the hoodie kid repeatedly punch Peter. Peter took it all. He didn’t even attempt to escape.

The hoodie kid took a skateboard from behind him and hit Peter across the head with it. Tony jumped in his chair. Peter fell limp to the ground hitting his head again. Both kids looked at him for a moment before grabbing their shit and running. Tony was in shock. He had no idea why anyone would do this to Peter. Were they kids from Peter’s school? Did they know Peter? He had so many questions. 

Tony thought for a moment before realizing he was going to have to wait for Peter to answer these questions. So, Tony passed the time. He worked on upgrades to Peter’s suit and thought of questions to ask Peter when he was ready.

It wasn’t long until FRIDAY informed him that Peter was awake. Tony left the lab and into Peter’s room. It was brighter now from the light creeping in through the bottoms of the curtains. Peter was laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling.

“I remember parts of it,” Peter said quietly as he sat up. “There were two guys. They go to my school. They took me into the alley. And then I don’t remember.”

“Who was it?” Tony asked still standing by the door. 

Peter shook his head in response. He had been avoiding eye contact. “I don’t remember,”

“Peter,” Tony said. Peter knew. He just wasn’t telling for some reason.

“I’ve dealt with them before ok? You don’t need to get involved. They’ve gotten in enough trouble because of me,” Peter replied.

Tony wasn’t going to give up so easily. “Peter, they could’ve killed you. If you hadn’t called me when you did, you would be dead because of them.”  
Peter stared at the floor. He squeezed his eyes tight. “I can’t,” He whispered.

“Why?” Tony asked. “What did they do to you?”

Peter shook his head again.

“Peter, answer me,” Tony walked toward the bed and sat beside him. He could now see the tear tracks down Peter’s face.

Peter took a deep breath. “They wanted to cheat off me for this big test. So I failed on purpose. They were mad and I told them I would tutor them but, they thought I was mocking them so… But, they’re just a couple of guys. If I had used my powers I could’ve taken them out easily so don’t worry.”

“Have they ever done something like this before?” Tony asked.

“Uhhhh,” Peter hesitated. “Nothing this bad.”

Tony ran a hand down his face. This kid was going to be the death of him.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Or May, or Happy?” 

“I didn’t want you guys to worry!” Peter said finally making eye contact. “If I had told you you would’ve freaked out and called the school and gotten them suspended or something! They don’t deserve that ok? They’re just fooling around. It’s fine I can handle it.”

Tony didn’t know what to say. How long had this been going on? It must’ve been happening for years if Peter was so calm about it. That thought made Tony sick. Peter should’ve said something. This wouldn’t have escalated so much if he had just said something.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said breaking Tony’s train of thought. “Please don’t worry about it. I can handle them.”

Tony sighed. He couldn’t believe what this kid would go through for a couple of assholes from school.

“Fine,” He said. “I won’t call the school. But if they ever show any signs of physical violence again, you’re telling me their names and they’ll never see that school again. Deal?”

Peter hesitated for a moment. “Deal,” He said giving Tony a small forced smile.

Tony smiled back and stood from the bed. He walked toward the door and opened it. 

“Now get some rest, Cho will kill me if you aren’t recovered soon.” 

He slowly creaked the door closed and walked back to the lab. He didn’t feel particularly better about the situation. But, he did feel better knowing Peter would tell him if anything got too out of hand again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That one took me a while to write because it's a bit longer than the rest. I hope you liked it though! New chapter coming soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So it's been a hot minute. I know I said during second semester I would post more but dang it's a lot of work. I've been spending all my free time sleeping so oops. Anyway, the reason I didn't post the final chapter earlier is that I really couldn't decide on which scenario to go with. There were a few options I had to choose from. In the end, this one won because of emotional shit. I hope you enjoy!

It was way past Peter’s curfew. He had been stalling for the past three hours. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep when he got home. The last few nights he had spent hours just lying in his bunk bed staring at the mattress above him. It’s not that he didn’t want to sleep. He just couldn’t. So, he thought helping people out and swinging around the city would be a better use of his time. Or so he thought.

“Incoming call from May Parker,” Karen said lighting up the screen in Peter’s mask.

“What? I thought she was working all night!” Peter shouted.

“Peter?” May’s voice cracked over the line. It’s 4 AM where are you?”

“Uhh what? I’m in my room,” Peter replied trying to sound like he just woke up.

“Oh, yea... So am I.” 

Oh shit… Peter thought. “Listen May,”

“No. Peter, you have to tell me what’s going on! For all, I know, you’re making meth in a trailer. Just tell me.”

“I’m on my way home ok?” Peter said landing on a nearby building.

“No, you’re telling me right now.”

“I can’t explain it over the phone it’s complicated…”

“Peter, I was a teenager too. I know “it’s complicated” means I’m still thinking of an excuse. Just say it.”

Peter ran his hands down his face. He suddenly felt all the exhaustion from the previous sleepless nights. 

“I’ll be home in a minute,” Peter said. “End call.”

May’s voice was cut off. She was going to kill him when he got home. What was he going to tell her? She couldn’t know about Spider-Man. Peter started home thinking of any possible excuse. He suddenly snapped out of his panic when he heard a scream. He looked around and saw a woman being mugged in the alleyway beneath him. He knew he had to get home. But, he couldn’t just ignore this. What if the woman was hurt? Peter saw there was only one man and he had a knife.

He dropped down behind the guy and tapped on his shoulder. The man spun around and slashed the knife. Peter dodged it easily and grabbed the knife from his hand. He webbed the man to the wall and picked up the purse from the ground.

“Thank you Spider-Man!” The woman said. 

As Peter handed her the purse, his spider-sense went crazy. The woman suddenly pulled out a gun. Peter had no time to react before she pulled the trigger. He fell backwards onto the concrete.

“It appears you have been shot. The bullet is lodged in your left shoulder. Shall I call Mr. Stark?” Karen asked.

“No! I’m going home now… I’ll be fine.”

As Peter stood shakily from the ground, the woman stalked forward and punched him in the stomach. Peter fell back onto the ground. He was gasping for air. The woman crawled on top of him. She dug her finger into the wound on his shoulder. Peter groaned and tried to push her off. She punched him hard across the face again and again. Peter used his good arm to catch her punch and throw her off. He shot a web at the building above him and took off. He didn’t bother fighting the woman. He had to get home. 

Every movement he made sent white-hot pain through his left side. It took longer than usual to swing home since he only had one arm to swing with.

When he finally landed on his fire escape outside his bedroom, he slid the window open and crawled in. He looked around for a clean shirt to hold against his shoulder. He heard the door creak open. His head shot up. May was in the door holding a baseball bat. 

“Who are you?” She said slowly walking in.

Peter put his hands up debating whether to say something. May raised the bat higher. 

“I said, who are you?” May asked with more confidence this time. Peter still hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he could tell her. She raised the bat and began to swing.

“W-wait wait!” Peter spoke up. He slowly raised his hand to his mask and carefully slid it off. He couldn’t look at her. He knew she would freak out at the blood and cuts he knew were riddled across his face.

“Oh my god… Peter…” She dropped the bat and took a few slow steps towards him.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you. I wanted you to be safe. I thought if you knew maybe you’d be a target and it was just easier to protect you if no one knew…” He sighed. He finally found the courage to look up at her. He regretted that. Peter hadn’t seen that face since Uncle Ben died. She was hurting. He lied to her for years. “May I’m sorry.”

May looked at the ground and sighed. “Who else knew?”

“That’s not-”

“Who Peter?”

“Mr. Stark. He was the first to know. Uhh, Ned knows. And MJ… The Avengers… Everyone at SHIELD…” Peter replied slightly embarrassed.

May laughed. But, there was no humour in it. “So about a thousand people knew before me…" She paused. "Is this the Stark Internship?”

Peter nodded.

"I'm gonna kill that Tony Stark! What about the retreat huh? What were you doing for that weekend?”

“Mr. Stark asked for my help to uh… Fight Captian America in Germany… But, I promise I was safe ok? I was with Mr. Stark! He made sure I was ok.”

“And Washington? That was you?”

He nodded again.

May covered her face with her hands. She walked out of Peter’s bedroom and fell onto the couch. Peter followed her. 

“How can you do… That stuff?” May asked staring at the floor.

“May… I’m sorry I lied to you.”

She shook her head. 

“Say something,” Peter said.

She stood and walked into her room without another word. Peter walked back into his room and grabbed an old teeshirt and held it against the wound. He slid down the wall and onto the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to keep the tears in. He should’ve told May. She should’ve been the first to know. 

He grabbed his phone and dialled Mr. Stark. Before he pressed call, however, he remembered Mr. Stark was in Europe for the week. He decided the best person to call was Happy. 

It rang a few times before Happy’s voice appeared on the other end of the line. 

“You better be dying to be calling me at 4 AM,” Happy sounded like he just woke up. Hearing his voice made tears pour from Peter’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have called…” Peter said.

“Are you ok kid? You don’t sound so good,” Happy asked sounding more awake.

“Yea uhhh… May found out. She found out that I’m Spider-man… She’s pissed.” Peter’s voice cracked.

“Do you want me to come down there? I can bring you to the tower for the night,” Happy replied.

“Thank you,” Peter said hanging up.

He stood and began gathering some clean clothes and his homework into his backpack. He wrote a note and left it on his bedroom door before leaving through the window. Happy was waiting for him when he got to the front of the building. He got into the back of the car. Happy looked at him through the mirror as they drove toward the tower. 

“What’s with the teeshirt?” Happy asked.

Peter sighed and gripped it harder. “It’s nothing.”

There was silence for a few more minutes.

“Kid, you gotta say something you’re freaking me out. I’ve never seen you this quiet.”

“I’m just tired,”

Happy pulled into the parking garage of the tower and parked the car. He turned and looked at Peter.

“Don’t give me that shit. I know you’re messed up about this. Tell me what’s going on. What happened to your face? We’ll start there.”

Peter sighed again. “Can we please just-”

“Not until you tell me.”

Peter took a shaky breath in. “Some lady was pretending to get mugged and she beat me up while I thought I was helping her.”

“Ok…” Happy said. “Not what I expected. What about the shirt?”

“Please Happy. I don’t want to talk about it right now can we just go inside?”

“Kid I said-”

“Ok fine! I was out past curfew and May busted me. I got shot on my way home and I think I’m getting kicked out. Was that enough for you?” Tears spilled onto Peter’s face again. He couldn't look at Happy. He just looked at the carpet of the car.

“Wait you got shot?” Happy asked.

Peter rolled his eyes and trudged out of the car slamming the door behind him. He marched across the parking lot and toward the elevator. Happy chased after him. They got into the elevator. Happy pressed the button for the 83rd floor. They stood in silence for a few moments before Happy spoke up again.

“I think you’ll need that shoulder looked at,” Happy said trying to lighten the mood.

Peter broke. He threw a punch at the wall of the elevator with his good arm. He left a huge dent in the metal. Peter slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Tears burned down his face. Happy had no idea what to do. He had never seen Peter this way. The only thing he could do was sit beside him. 

“I’m sorry Peter,” Happy said. “I’m not the best at talking about feelings. I shouldn’t have tried to get you to talk you’ve had a long night. I just want to make sure you’re ok.” 

Peter rested his head on Happy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for freaking out. I really am tired.”

“Yea I bet,” Happy chuckled. They sat in silence for a moment. “Everything will work out. I know you’re aunt.”

The elevator dinged and Happy stood. He held out a hand to Peter and hauled him to his feet. They walked to the med bay and met with Cho. She patched Peter up and sent him to bed. By the time he was actually trying to sleep, it was nearly seven AM. Peter couldn’t sleep. He just layed in bed contemplating his situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Happy had ensured Peter was in bed, he shot a text to Tony explaining the situation. He sat in the common room closest to Peter’s room and called May. 

“Hello?” May said. She sounded slightly panicked.

“Hey, it’s Happy Hogan. I’m Tony’s asset manager. I have Peter here with me. He called me a few hours ago asking me to pick him up. Don’t worry. He’s safe here in Avengers tower. I’m just calling to let you know he’s here and safe and I can bring him home whenever you want.”

“Oh, well thank you so much for keeping him safe. It’s so nice of you to take care of him on such short notice. I just don’t know if he wants to come home…”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“He wrote this note before he left… It just seems like he’s hurt because of me.”

“Why don’t you come down here and talk to him?” Happy suggested.

“Do you think it’s too sudden? Maybe I should give him some time?” Happy could tell Peter wasn’t the only one who needed some time. May was also scared.

“How ‘bout I’ll come get you when he wakes up?”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Hogan,” May said sounding relieved.

“It’s just Happy.” He hung up the phone and went to check on Peter. He was finally asleep. Happy sighed and returned to the common area. He almost instantly fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter awoke to the bright afternoon sun shining through his window. He checked the time. It was about 2 PM. That was the most he had slept in weeks. He slid off the bed and jumped in the shower. The hot water was exactly what he needed. It soothed his face from the tears. When he got out, he checked his shoulder. It was almost completely healed. There was just a bit of bruising. He left his room and walked into the common room. He saw Happy completely passed out on the couch. Peter smiled and entered the kitchen. 

The whole floor was deserted. Peter hadn’t seen the tower this empty before. The other Avengers must’ve been on a mission. Peter poured himself a bowl of cereal and ate it quietly. Until a very tired looking, Bucky entered the room. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Peter. 

“Tony’s out of town for a week,” He said.

“Yea I know,” Peter said not looking away from his cereal.

Bucky shrugged and poured himself a bowl. They sat in silence for a few moments.

“You didn’t go on the mission?” Peter asked.

“Nah,” Bucky replied. “Wasn’t in the mood. What about you?”

“Wasn’t invited. I got here late last night.”

“Why’s that?” 

“I was patrolling late,” Peter wasn’t technically lying. He just really didn’t want to talk about it.

Bucky just nodded in response. They sat in silence until Happy wandered in. 

“Hey, kid. How you feeling?” Happy asked.

“Fine,” Peter replied. Also not technically a lie.

“Is it ok if I bring your aunt over and you guys can talk?” He asked.

Peter nodded which caused Happy to rush out the door and into the elevator.

Bucky glanced at Peter from his cereal. “Patrolling late huh?”

Peter was slightly embarrassed that Happy chose to say that in front of the winter fricking soldier. But, he didn’t press it. Peter was slightly relieved of how chill Bucky was being. They never really spent time together. Peter wished they would later. But, right now he just wanted to be alone. Bucky seemed to sense this. He grabbed his empty bowl and dropped it in the sink on his way to the training gym. Peter sighed in relief and ate the rest of his breakfast. By the time he finished, the elevator dinged.

Peter’s heart began pounding. He was not prepared for this conversation. Something in him wanted it to be the other Avengers returning from their mission. Or Tony coming home from his trip to Europe. But, It was Happy and May.

May looked slightly dishevelled. Her eyes were red from tears and her hair was messy. She gave Peter a watery smile and ran out of the elevator. She hugged Peter tighter than ever.

“I’m so sorry Peter,” She began to sob.

Peter wasn’t sure what to say. He thought he was the one who owed her an apology.

“I shouldn’t have reacted like that,” She said pulling away. “I’m so proud of you. Ben would be too.”

That’s what got Peter. Tears spilled out onto his face. No matter how many times Mr. Stark said he was proud of Peter. It wouldn’t feel the same as May and Ben saying it. He wrapped his arms around her again and held her tighter. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“It’s ok. I wouldn’t have told me either,” May laughed.

They released from the hug and May looked around. Happy was standing awkwardly by the elevator.

“Want me to take you home?” Happy asked.

“If you don’t mind,” May said.

Peter knew Happy wouldn’t mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! This one was really hard for me to write since I focused more on characters I don't usually use too much. (Happy, May, and Bucky). So, I hope you like the change of pace. More chapters of Lockdown and more coming soon!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Stay tuned for more chapters! Comment below any critiques and suggestions. I also will take prompts so if you want me to write a scenario hmu!


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